Olinguito, de la A a la Z! by Lulu Delacre

Published by Lee and Low Books 

Summary: Never heard of the olinguito? Don’t worry, scientists have only known about it since 2006. Lulu Delacre has created an alphabet book with text in both Spanish and English that follows zoologist Dr. Kristofer Helgen through the cloud forest of Ecuador as he looks for and finally finds this little animal. The olinguito doesn’t make an appearance until “W”, though, so the reader gets introduced to many other flora and fauna of the rainforest. Extensive back matter includes information about the discovery of the olinguito, the cloud forest, the illustrations, plus a lengthy glossary…all in both English and Spanish. 40 pages; grades K-4.

Pros: The illustrations are as lush and colorful as the cloud forest. The text could be used as a simple alphabet book or as a resource for research, depending on which parts are used.

Cons: The English is sometimes not as alliterative as the Spanish in the alphabet portion of the book.

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